Kancheepuram (TN), Oct 23 (PTI) Four people, including a 22-year old man allegedly running an unlicenceed crackers outlet, were killed here Tuesday when fire-crackers and some raw materials exploded accidentally at his premises, police said.

Retailer Mushtaq, and three others, including two women, were killed in the mishap which occured at his residence while he was arranging the fire-crackers and raw materials.

Under the impact of the explosion, walls of the old house were severly damaged.

The firecrackers that exploded were "locally made, unbranded and more powerful than the branded ones," a senior official told PTI.

Though the firecrackers and raw materials were procured from those holding explosive licence, the youth did not have a licence for retail sale of crackers, he said.

Mushtaq's father Maideen was being questioned, the official said adding a case has been registered and a probe was on.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)